Protector
by mikmik121
Summary: Wingtalia AU. Lukas and his brother are being hunted down by a deranged lunatic who only wishes to use them for money and torture. When Lukas gets shot down, he encounters an enthusiastic Dane who takes him in and protects him from danger. Now, after finding one of their own has gone missing, Lukas, with some newfound friends has to go search for Peter's brother, Arthur.
1. Chapter 1

Another bullet whizzed past the two, Lukas tackling Emil to keep him out of the way. They fell a few hundred feet but quickly retaliated to get out of the area as quickly as possible.

The Norwegian looked back to where the shot rung out, the person being shrouded by the trees below. "How did this end up happening? Emil, I told you that you need to conceal yourself in public!"

"It's not my fault! Some girl saw a feather sticking out and she tugged on it!" The platinum-blond boy spit back, avoiding another shot as it passed nearby. "I didn't want them to just rip through my clothes either!"

A third shot rang out below and without any warning, the bullet ran through the elder brother's shoulder. Emil quickly noticed when Lukas fell down a couple hundred feet. Still, bullets were being fired. Lukas held his shoulder, looking at his sibling. "Go. Just get somewhere safe and I'll come and get you later, okay? So go!"

Emil gave a weary look until a bullet was shot between them and he took off. Lukas could feel warm blood spilling on his clothes and the knowledge that he couldn't continue much longer outweighed everything. He went off in the opposite direction. He was happy to hear the gunman was following him and sparing his little brother.

This went on for an hour or so before the gunman completely stopped. At this point, Lukas was getting so drained from blood-loss, he simply landed in a patch he deemed safe and landed lazily, crashing painfully on his face.

He gathered himself up, leaning on the nearest tree trunk and slowly made his way forward with his wings tucked behind his back, blood slowly oozing down in between the fabric of his shirt and skin. There was a rustling ahead of him, making him paused an a beat of worry. Possibly the man trying to kill him was coming towards him.

Someone came through the brush, crystalline blue eyes and spiked blond hair. The man paused and looked at Lukas, quickly noticing the blood on his shoulders. Lukas defensively lifted his wings, trying to muster a threatening look to scare the man away. Yet, he remained mostly unfazed.

"Dude, you're all bloody! Come here, lemme see." He moved swiftly to Lukas' side and examined the gun wound with widening eyes. "Shit...um...I can take you to my house and get that cleaned up-"

"Off me..." Lukas hissed, backing away. "Don't touch me..."

"You need help." He stated obliviously, moving closer once more. "Come on, I promise I won't hurt you. Let me at least wrap it-" before he finished, Lukas toppled over, unconscious.

"Okay...so that just happened..."

* * *

Lukas started coming to house later, laying in a foreign bed smelling strong of unnatural scents. He scrunched his nose and pinched it shut, disliking the bitter scent in his nose. When he went to sit up, he noticed his shoulder had been all wrapped up and the bed sheets had small traces of blood on them. His eyes narrowed, that idiot had brought him to his home.

Getting up, he hoped to make an escape to hopefully go out and find his brother. It looked dark enough outside to where he assumed the man would possibly be asleep. He crawled out of the bedroom and started limping around, looking for an exit. Pain was surging in his leg, most likely from the faulty landing.

"Hey you!" Someone snapped behind him, making him flinch and his wings to spread as far as they could. "You aren't feeling better yet, are you? I can see you limping. Come on, back to bed."

Before he could protest, his smaller body was lifted and no amount of flailing or writhing could remove him of the grip the Dane held him in. "I don't like being touched, let me go."

"No. You're hurt and you're thinking of running off." The man growled, making Lukas fall silent. "I'll be okay. You're limping, let me check that leg..."

"Get off of me." Lukas murmured as he was laid on the bed. "I need to find Emil. Let me go and find him!"

"No." The man stated simply, leaving for a brief moment to return with a first aid kit. "Just lay there and relaxed. You seem really pale right now too, you need to calm down before you pass out again."

He lifted Lukas' leg and he winced in pain, pulling it away to cause more pain to himself. "Okay, okay, easy now-"

"Stop talking to me like I'm an animal that's going to give you some sort of a disease." He spit, carefully extending his leg out again. "I'm not a human but I'm no rodent either."

The man nodded, carefully lifting his leg and wrapping it up for him to walk on it. "That should be good for now. Um...I could get you cleaner sheets if you want. You were bleeding on those..."

"They're fine...my wound might open again so I'd rather not have you continually giving me new ones constantly." He replied dully, looking away from the man with a sigh. "I'm Lukas..."

He looked over and grinned. "Mathias, nice to meet you."

Lukas was restless for the first few days. He didn't want to be sitting around and was constantly going up and about, even managing to make it outside for some fresh air by escaping through the window. Mathias got extremely annoyed with this but brought the other joy.

Eventually he had settled with keeping still, pretty much when he reopened his wound once more from all his restlessness. He didn't want to admit Mathias was right, so he simply didn't and allowed himself to be sitting comfortably as he was tended to.

When he had gotten somewhat better, Lukas was allowed outside. He didn't care much, just hoping for any sign of Emil when he was. There were signals out there but he had yet to come get Lukas out of here. Probably because of the flurry of panic from earlier. He might've assumed that his brother was captured.

Mathias would go outside and watch as Lukas flew in circles. He seemed amused and sometimes (to poke his own fun) he'd land on the ground on front of him and send him back with a strong gust of air followed by 'stop staring at me.'

There was even one time when he lifted Mathias off the ground a few dozen feet into the air while he squeaked in surprise and fright. This had even made Lukas smile, not so much because of his fright but from honest fun he was having.

Then one day, Lukas woke up normally and went outside for a quick flight. It only took him a moment to realize someone was approaching and turned his head to see his little brother there, looking below the surrounding area. "Emil! Emil!"

The blond looked over, a smile curving on his lips before he rushed over. Lukas did the same, trying to get to his brother's aid only to have a bullet tear through his right wing and send him to the ground in front of Mathias' house. Mathias, who was watching at the time, saw him crash painfully to the ground and lay still in a heap.

"Lukas! Damnit Lukas!" He rushed out the door and beside the man's side, seeing that the bullet had completely torn through the flesh on his wing. Emil came down, seeing Mathias and quickly tackling him to the ground throwing violent blows. "Hey! Hey stop!"

"Why did you do that to my brother!?" He hissed, literally scratching flesh off of Mathias' exposed arms. "Leave us alone!"

"Emil..." Both paused when they heard Lukas. "H-He helped me...he's not bad..."

"Yeah. I need to get you both inside quick." Mathias grinned as Emil stepped off of him. "Just go in there and hide. Lukas...I need you to tuck your wings in. Just for a little while until I can be sure you're safe."

He nodded, getting helped up while Emil stepped inside and hid beneath Lukas' bed. "This place smells bitter...I don't like it..."

"You g-get used to it..." There was a loud knocking at the door, making even Lukas flinch. "Don't l-let whoever it is in..."

"Lock the bedroom door just in case. Emil...try to stop the bleeding any way you can."

"Don't refer to me so lightly you filth." He hissed back, sitting on the bed as his brother extended his wing out to reveal the bloodied wound. The door was locked behind Mathias. "Keep us safe or else! I don't trust you as it is."

When he went to the door, Mathias was face-to-face with a gruffly man with a shotgun barrel aimed towards him. "Have you seen any strange men been 'round here?"

"Aside from you, no." He went to shut the door when the man's foot stopped it. "This isn't a game. Have you seen anything or not?"

"I don't get much around these parts so no." Again, he went to shut the door when the man stepped in. "The authorities are closer than you think if you want me to call! Get out!"

"You were fighting with something. There are fresh wounds on your arm." He paused, examining them again. "You saw the two of 'me didn't you?" Mathias stayed completely silent. "Well?"

"Yes, I saw them." He said calmly, looking the man in the eye. "I scared the gray one away...it was towing the other one."

"Damnit..."

"Why do you want 'em?"

"The government of Norway is looking to exchange for a pretty penny." The man said with a dark laugh. "Probably would've kept 'em for myself. Be set for life with my hybrid captives."

"I couldn't stop them but they looked like they were going towards the border to Germany. I'd head there if you're still hunting them."

"Thanks." He said with a smile before rushing out. Mathias waited by the window until he was out of sight then locked the door and entered the bedroom with the two. Emil was crying into Lukas' arms, looking towards the Dane as he entered with watery eyes.

"He's gone." He stated simply. "Come on, I'll help you with that wound..."

He left and quickly returned with the kit, daubing disinfectant on the wound before wrapping it up, remaining cautious of the feathers. Emil sat close, watching with a pout on his face knowing the trust Lukas had on this human to allow him to even be near his wings.

Once he had finished, Lukas leaned on Mathias and rested his head on his chest. Emil narrowed his eyes, resting his head on Lukas' lap and breathing out heavily.

"Are you okay Emil?" Lukas asked softly, brushing his fluffy platinum-blond hair. "Mathias, can you make him something to eat? You've gotten skinnier, haven't you?"

Mathias obliged, getting up to get the younger male something to eat. When he left, Emil narrowed his eyes. "You've imprinted on the human male, haven't you Lukas?"

"Yeah. And?"

"Do say it so openly." He hissed, glaring at his brother. "Humans made us into this. Don't trust him."

"I do though." He muttered as Mathias came back with reheated leftovers for Emil. "And I plan on staying on here for awhile longer."

The younger man rolled his eyes but knew simply that he couldn't survive long on his own. "Fine then. But if something goes wrong, it's on your head."


	2. Chapter 2

Drowning. Encased by water. Where am I? Who am I? Oh yeah, I remember now. Then I loose it all again. Cold, hot, pain, every one of the feelings anyone could feel came about at one time at every direction. My body flinched when lightning seemed to run through my body.

Back. My back is aching worse than anyone could even imagine. Yet I can't move. I'm not in control of my body. Bones, I'm growing extra bones where there should be none. New appendages and yet, the same me.

Gone. The water surrounding me is lifted and I'm able to manage a scream. They laughed. I must've sounded like a dying animal to them when they heard it. I'm trapped and scared to them. Surrounded and weak. A child. Stupid child. I get kicked by one of them.

I hear them being knocked down. Then I'm lifted into arms protected safely. Blanket draped over me. A softer, kinder voice. I don't know who it is. I can barely remember myself again. How old am I? What day is it?

He kisses my temple and breathed out a heavy sigh. "It's going to be okay Emil. I'll get you out of here too..." Emil. That's my name. A wretched being made from human hands. And today was the anniversary of my birth. Today, I have turned 3.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Just wanted you to know that I've not given up on this series and I expect to write more soon. I have a basic plot based out in my mind that I need to figure out. So here's a really short little chapter to occupy you for a bit.

Also, I'm warning you now that I may be writing two chapters then loose thought. This means, I may update a lot then nothing at all.


	3. Chapter 3

The blond boy's eyes opened up to a start, wild with panic. Where was he? This wasn't his home and the scent was bittersweet. Arthur? Where was Arthur? He went to get out of whoever's bed this was but met with a stabbing pain in his shoulder which caused him to scream and collapse over, clutching it tightly.

Two figures entered the doorway, both blond with one having eyes of violet holding a concerned and frightened look and the other with blue, emotionless eyes hidden behind frames. The smaller of the two with the curiously-colored eyes came over him and went to pull the small hand off his opened wound. Only when he touched the body did his flinch and spread the two wings on his back to make him look somewhat more intimidating.

"P-Please, calm down." The small one said with a kind and timid voice, holding his hand out cautiously. "We're not going to hurt you...I promise. We need to bandage you up again." He removed his hand, seeing white bandages on his shoulder turning a deep red in one spot. "Come here."

He didn't budge, putting his hand against the injury again and staring frightened towards the two strangers in front of him. Cautiously though, he moved awkwardly closer, letting his wings fall back into a normal place and wrapping his good arm around the small man's neck.

"See, that wasn't so bad..." He lulled in a soft voice, lifting the boy up in his arms and looking towards the bigger, more intimidating man in the room with him. "The first aid kit is still out there, right Berwald...? Alright...let's get you all fixed up young man."

"P-Peter..." The boy murmured in the crook of his neck. "My name's Peter..."

"Peter." He repeated in a sweet tone. "That's a perfect name for you. I said you looked like a Peter. I'm Tino...the other man is my partner, Berwald. We found you unconscious a few hundred feet from our back porch. Can you tell us what happened?"

Peter looked up with big, teary eyes and shook his head while snuggling close. There was no sense of anyone else around, Arthur was clear out of the area and there wasn't any person that could save him. Before he was sat down, he was in complete tears, grabbing tightly onto Tino with sobs rolling.

Tino sat down, Berwald still moving to get the bandages while the former sat rocking the child in his arms to calm him down. "Peter, don't worry...! Me and Berwald are going to take care of you until your parent or guardian finds you. We don't mind, so please-!"

"A-Arthur! S-Someone! I'm so scared! I'm all alone!" He sobbed, nestling closer to Tino. "I-I'm all b-by myself...! A-Alfred...!? Francis...!? Mattie...!? I w-wanna go home...!"

Berwald came over, silencing Peter as he unraveled the white, blood-stained bandages and cleaning off the lacerated injury Peter had on his shoulder in silence. The latter bit his lip and ignored the pain while Tino brushed his blond hair and breathed calming, soothing words into his ear.

By the time the injury was cleaned back up, Peter was half-asleep in Tino's lap with his blond wings hanging limply down and his face pressed against his chest. "See Peter...me and Berwald are going to take care of you for a little while...whoever lost you are obviously going to look for you..."

"I wanna go home..." He whimpered tiredly, rubbing his tired blue eyes and letting out a yawn. "I-I just wanna be with my big brother again..."

"Can you tell us what happened Peter...?" He looked up with uncertainty again. "If not, it's alright...you're still weak from the injury and you're also probably hungry and tired. Do you want something to eat-"

"I...got shot..." He interrupted with concentration on his face and remembrance in his eyes. "B-By some crazy man..."

* * *

Peter swooped down happily in the air, feeling the rush of air brushing against his face. He laughed then looked back towards his brother who was chasing him with bushy-brows furrowed in frustration. "Get back here you little twerp!"

"You gotta catch me first!"

Within their own little, happy, make-believe world, they had no suspicion that there was a man beneath them. Flying home from a long trip from Russia, they were now over the Scandinavian area.

Just like that, a bullet flew out of nowhere and tore itself through the lower part of Peter's shoulder and skimming the top of his wing. The shock made him freeze and begin falling down a few hundred feet.

He rushed, grabbing his falling brother as a barrage of ammunition came in their general direction and was just barely dodged by the older brother. He held his Peter close and brushed his hair, looking around with frantic eyes for the source of the gunman.

Arthur looked back towards little Peter, fright in his eyes as another bullet rang out and his body lurched to keep away from it. The blond held his whimpering little brother in his arms and darted away from the offender high up in the clouds.

"Artie..." He groaned with pain shooting through his fresh-bleeding injury. "Artie, it hurts a lot..."

"I know Peter..." He breathed, looking down below and scanning for the life form who was shooting at them and seeing nothing much rather than animals scampering around. "I need you to go off Peter. Go run away and find help. I need to take care of that man before he hurts another one of us. He's a hunter, he'll stop at nothing to kill us."

"B-But Arthur-!"

"Is your wing hurt?"

"H-Huh?"

"Is your wing hurt Peter!?"

"N-No-"

"Then go!"

"Arthur no!"

They held tightly to one another before Arthur pushed him off. "Go! I'll be alright, okay?" He gripped both of Peter's shoulders. "So please, go find help for yourself...!"

"I'm scared!"

"I know." Arthur said in a calm voice, interrupted quickly by another bullet brushing nearby them. "Peter, please go find shelter. We'll be alright...! Someone will be able to sense you if they go by...there's a lot of us out here so please-"

A shot just barely missed them, making Peter flinch while Arthur flew off. The pain in his shoulder was getting worse and worse, the metallic smell of blood painful to the senses. He left, watching his older brother going the direction of the man while more shots carried through the air.

He flew; flew until his wings gave out and he collapsed on the ground hours later. The sun setting. Birds chirping around him. Blood now going down his shirt and sticking to his skin with a hot, gross sensation. Weak and tired, he decided to shut his eyes for a few minutes.

Those few 'minutes' passed elongated, Tino and Berwald managing to find him, clean him up, bandage him and lay him in bed. It was almost a days passing before he awoke.

* * *

Tino held the phone in his hand, leaning in on the doorway and watching Berwald stroke Peter's paled cheek calmly. The phone rang on the other line a few times before someone picked up. But it was still relieving.

"Hey, Tino!" The voice sounded over the phone with such enthusiasm. "It's been a while since I've heard from ya!"

"Yeah, well-"

"So what do ya need?"

"Can you come over?" He asked shyly, turning back to Berwald and Peter and speaking in a soft voice. "We've sorted run into a...small dilemma and we could really use some help."

"Sure...uh...hold on a second." A voice spoke with a few others in the background, one being harsh before he came back. "Listen, can I bring along a few people? I've found myself in a mess myself."

"O-Of course." He said with surprise in his voice. What could've he gotten into this time? "Thanks for agreeing to help on such short notice Mathias. Me and Berwald really appreciate it."

Mathias grinning, brushing Lukas' soft hair has he slept in the spare bedroom bed. Emil was at the doorway, his silver wings slightly parted and a pissed looked on his face. "It's no problem. Maybe that'll end up helping me in the end too. Considering that I'm getting myself into a small heap of trouble."

Tino laughed on the other side. "You _always_ found a way to get into trouble Mathias, I'm not surprised." There was light talking on the other end before Tino returned. "I need to go. Um...when can you come over?"

"I'll round everybody up and we'll head over in like 15 to 20 minutes." Mathias grinned, looking at Emil who was still pouting like a spoiled child. "Alright, bye." With that, he hung up and stared back at the grimacing face. "Oh come on now Emil. Why don't we let bygones by bygones for a little bit."

"You're endangering us."

"They're like brothers. I promise, they won't hurt you." His eyes turned back to Lukas, sleeping so peacefully as if the world rocking couldn't wake him. "Go grab a baggy sweatshirt from my room for you and Lukas. I'm gunna wake him up."

"Filthy human..." He growled, exiting the room while Mathias stayed beside the other in silence. "You're room reeks of unnatural things you trash!"

Mathias laughed to himself, brushing Lukas' hair once more then lightly shook his okay arm. "Hey Lukas...Lukas...time to wake up." His eyes opened a crack, the dark blue iris showing a smidgen before shutting once again. "I'm bringing you to a friend's house for a little bit...I'll ask if you can sleep there..."

Lukas sat up slightly, eyes narrowed sleepily. "T-That's stupid...we're not human..."

"But you were once." Mathias cupped his face lightly, brushing his cheek with the pad of his thumb. "Come on...they need help. They trust me and I trust them. Emil and I are going so..."

"Alright..." He murmured softly as Emil came back in and tossed him a sweatshirt. "Mathias is going to keep us safe Emil." Said man started helping him in slipping on the sweatshirt to conceal his wings. "I trust him."

"They're going to gut us like fish..."


	4. Chapter 4

When Peter sensed something, that's when he awoke next with a start. He ignored the pain and thought only of Arthur's words that there were a lot of their kind around. That wasn't a lie, there were two others extremely close to him.

"I'm glad you've come." That was Tino's voice. "Me and Ber didn't know who else to call. I'm sorry if this caused any inconvenience to you or..."

"Oh," an unfamiliar voice to him,"I never introduced you. These two are Lukas and Emil."

The names caused the three of them to tense. Lukas and Emil more because they were already nervous enough around the new humans. And Peter due to the familiarity of the names. He quickly threw the sheets off of him and scampered out of the room in silence.

He followed the voices to the living room, peering in unsurely to see Lukas and Emil sitting with a stranger and speaking in silence. They were tense and fearful, sitting with their hands gripping at their legs. Emil looked up, seeing Peter in the corner and gaining everyone's attention.

Tino smiled towards him, giving a little wave. "Good morning Peter." Lukas and Emil flinched in surprise. "Why don't you come and say 'hello' to our guests-"

He was cut off when Peter suddenly rushed up to Lukas, getting up onto his lap and hugging his neck. "Lukas...I'm happy you're here...I-I don't know where Arthur is..."

"Peter, what happened to you?" He asked silently, brushing the boy's hair and holding him close as his body trembled. "Look at your arm you silly kid..."

It didn't aid in making him feel better. Rather, he felt about ten times worse about it. "A-Arthur and I...w-we were getting shot at a-and he told me to go away a-after I got hit..." Tino and Berwald watched intently as Lukas rubbed his back gently. "I-I tried to find s-someone nearby b-but...I couldn't...!"

Tino stood up, going over silently and looking over towards Lukas with calm eyes and arms opened. He wasn't sure if Peter would willingly want to go but tried anyway, surprised to see the boy latch tightly onto the man's shirt and hold closely as he started silently crying.

"Hey Peter, it's alright." He murmured softly, jouncing him carefully in his arms. "We'll find Arthur and Mathias isn't too far away. You'll be okay...me and Berwald are going to watch you until then..."

His cries calmed, further sending the two into shock at how calm he was with these two total strangers especially considering that they'd cared for him for only a short while.

Still, Lukas grabbed at the sweatshirt he wore and began working it off to Emil's dismay. "Lukas, what the hell do you think you're doing-?"

"It's fine." He murmured as he tore the sweatshirt off completely and reaching out to take young Peter in his arms again. Tino flinched, seeing the large feathered appendages on his back stretch out much larger and rounder than Peter's with a softer, sandy color and small grayish strips at the end. "Can you show me where his room is?"

Tino nodded unsurely, feeling much smaller than before and started leading him forward. Mathias stood up as well, making sure Lukas would be aright walking into the other room and leaving Emil alone with Berwald. "Lukas, I told you not to push yourself on the way over here."

"I'm fine..." He hissed as Tino sat down on the edge of the bed with little Peter sniveling in his arms. Mathias stopped at the doorway and watched in wonder as Lukas took him and asked Tino to just move over to the side a bit more.

As he moved, Lukas let those large wings wrap around the two of them like a protective sort-of shield. Tino and Mathias stood, awestruck by the complete beauty of them in their full length even with the right one still wrapped up. "Is this the trouble you've gotten into?"

Mathias grinned, pulling the smaller man under his arm as he came close. "I guess we're in this mess together then. Just let 'em be for a bit. They'll probably just end up sleeping in awhile since Lukas is still pretty weak himself. I think we should just figure out what to do from here."

"Yeah, I guess so..."

Meanwhile in the living room, Emil sat sternly with his wings still covered from sight and sneaking glances towards the tall Swede who sat across the way from him. Once or twice, their eyes would catch and Emil tore away from his frightening blue eyes just to look back curiously and have the other's eyes focusing elsewhere again.

"Y' don't like me, do ya?" He eventually spoke in a low, deep voice catching Emil's attention and forcing his eyes back on the man. "Y' keep starin' at me with angry eyes."

"I don't even want to be here." He huffed, crossing his arms and pouting (once again) as a child does. "I don't understand how Lukas has such faith in you stupid humans when you're the whole reason I have these damn wings attached to my back in the first place! Not to mention Mathias' brain is equal to that of a brick!"

"Well, 's not us who put them on yer back." Berwald muttered, fixating his glasses and looking sternly back at Emil. "Not every human 's the reason yer like that. 'S just th' bad ones who took 'y away 'n did that t' ya. Me 'n Tino 'n Mathias didn't do nothin' t' ya."

Emil looked away, feeling slightly more comfortable with this human than the others especially since he was talking complete sense; not that he would admit it. "Besides, I'm not to fond of Mathias either. 'S too loud 'n pretty annoyin'."

Emil looked back over to see him continually staring. "I guess you're right. Living with him for a few weeks...he's pretty much one of the most annoying beings I've met so far."

"Y' got wings too, dontcha'?" Emil was taken aback at the sudden question. "I won't do nothin' to 'em either if you'd rather have 'em out too." After a reluctant moment of silence and pause, he spoke up once more. "Y' look uncomfortable."

"I am but I much rather keep them tucked." His reply was more harsh then he intended but Berwald just shrugged and turned away as if staring into nothingness. But he was right about it being uncomfortable and took the sweatshirt off after a hesitant moment.

Mathias came back in with Tino in tow, curious as to the silence. "Lukas and Peter are laying down right now. But we've been talking about what we should do since Peter doesn't really belong to you two."

"We obviously need to find his brother...Arthur was it?" After gaining a nod from Emil, he continued. "He said the last time he saw his brother, he was flying towards the person shooting at him. But who exactly is the person who was shooting?"

"Probably the man who was shooting at _us_." Emil replied, standing up and facing Tino with wings spread to their ash-color fullness. "That's why I can't trust _any_ of you humans. You're all the same; you don't even care about us! You're just going to turn us in the first chance you get to the government and profit off of it. Or worse, send us to the zoo to be prodded like _cattle_!"

"Emil, that's not true-"

"All of you are the _same_. If my brother weren't hurt, I'd be out of here in a heartbeat!" He growled, going to the nearest exit that he could find and getting the door open. "I'm going out for some air!"

He slammed the back door, making all three jump in surprise. Berwald sighed, standing up and looking at the two standing at the entrance of the living room.

"'M gunna go talk to 'im." He mumbled, following Emil out and disappearing from sight.

Emil was sitting outside, his wings spread around him much as Lukas had done before and hunched over. He sat on the grass right at the edge of the wooded area and stayed completely still and silent. Yet, he could tell the larger man was coming closer, big heavy footsteps easily heard from behind.

Yet the large Swede said nothing as he came close and just sat beside him, close as he was allowed due to the wingspan wrapped around the other. For a long while, they just sat there beneath the high-noon sun in the mild weather. It was almost ten minutes past when Berwald started with,"'t's a nice day, hm?"

"Why do you insist on bothering me?"

"'Cause yer scared." Emil let one wing pull away and stare at the man. "Y' hate humans 'cause yer scared yer gunna go back t' where y' came."

"You'd be scared to if you knew where we all came from." He spat, scowling at the man. "It's a living hell and I never want to go back. These people...they have no sense of anything; they're complete _sadists_. I never want to get close to any human because of it. All of you are the same..."

"'M not the same as 'em-"

"Yes you _are_," his voice cracked at the last word. "They were as human as you were. They laughed and had their fun with the female attendants. We were caged up, forced to watch their acts like we were dumb _animals_ who couldn't understand. Poked and prodded us with needles like human pincushions and left screaming as they laughed. You don't even want to know what they did to me. Those _monsters_!"

Berwald moved closer, getting not even a hint of protest this time. His hand brushed the feathers with such softness, it made Emil shudder in surprise and couldn't help but blubber out,"they 'had _fun_' with me. They did things to a defenseless child that still makes me scared at night! I...I hate humans...!"

But he couldn't help but move over and lean of the man who was now supporting both him and his fears. "B-Because you're just like them...! _A-All_ humans are able to do what they did to me...!"

He didn't break down for long; he calmed down rather quickly and wiped the tears from his violet eyes before looking to him again. The hard malice he saw before was broken, a softness now in his eyes. Yes, all humans had the capacity to be cruel but not all of them were strong enough to do those sorts of things. "We're not doin' nothin' like that t' ya, alright?" Emil nodded, staying in his spot. "Y' wanna go back inside n' figure this whole mess out?"

"I don't want them to see me like this..." He grumbled, using the wing closest to Berwald to cover over his shoulders protectively. "You're not the worst human I've met so I've decided to trust you until you give me a reason not to..."

"Tino couldn't hurt a fly." Berwald said in silence, letting his hands stroke the silver wings. "'N Mathias seems fond of yer brother. Jus' give us a chance and y'll see we're not all bad."

* * *

Arthur was being dragged behind the gruffly man who had come up to Mathias' front door weeks ago looking for the 'creature' he had shot out of the sky. Behind him was a trail of blood spanned out from his wings and still dribbling onto the dirt.

"Don't 'cha worry none. I'm gunna bring ya home, fix ya up myself then put ya in that nice cage I was savin' for those two others." He grinned ignoring that the man was unconscious. "I'll make some good bucks of'n you. Filthy freak of nature."

"Oi!" The man's head whipped around only to be tacked by a red-headed young male and be wrestled to the ground. His shotgun was thrown a few feet away and the red-head had the clearer upper hand. "The _fuck_ did y' do t' that bloak!?"

The man watched helplessly as two others appeared, trying to get his prize to come to with little success. The red-head jerked his attention back by tearing at the man's collar. "Yer _disgusting_! That's an actual person ye know! What were ye gunna do to him!?"

"He's my source of income!" With that, the man struck him clear across the face, causing blood to start dribbling from his nose and down his paling skin.

"Get the fuck outta here! Seamus, get the gun first!" One of the two men at Arthur's side looked up, his blue eyes scanning the area a moment and finding the gun. He left his assumed brother's side a retrieved it, keeping it far away from the man as the red-head released him. "Go on, get!"

The man rushed off, leaving the rest of them alone. The one tending to Arthur; a man with dark brown hair and brown eyes with some facial stubble managed to get him up around over his arm. The red-head came over and supported the other as Seamus, the light-brown, curly haired man tried to keep them even with the awkward weight of the man's wings limp on his back.

A young boy, traits similar to Seamus' poked his head out of the brush to see what was going on to find his brothers bringing the other man back. "What the hell was that man's problem. Ye better 'ave given 'im one in the face Iain!"

The red-head grinned at the boy's enthusiasm, not letting the weight faze him. "He ran off like a wee babe."

Behind where the boy stood was a campsite, all set up and prepared for them to stay. The boy pulled out his own sleeping bag from the tent and laid it in the dirt for them to lay the strange blond man on. He paid no mind to the blood starting to soak it from the large, sandy wings. It was rather intriguing to him.

"Is he gunna be a'right?" The dark haired man spoke, looking for any more injuries on his body as Iain grabbed a first-aid kit from the car parked near the site. "I mean, he looks pretty pale."

"He'll be fine Reese." Iain muttered, coming back and starting to work on the obvious injury. Seeing no more than that, Reese sat back and watched. "We just need to get him home to rest. He won't do so well out here."

Everyone expected the young one to groan in detest but were surprised to see that he was alright with the ruined weekend trip. "I much rather make sure he's alright. Seamus, let's get everything down."

All three men grinned as he started helping to pack everything up. Iain got his most serious injury wrapped and held pressure to it to aid in clotting the blood. "Yer a pretty interesting lad, ain't 'cha." He muttered to try and wake him. "It's alright, me and me brother's have ye."

Arthur's green eyes opened up faintly, looking up at the two curious faces staring back down at him. He noticed the sky above him above the canopy of the trees. The red-headed man brushed some of the hair gently from his face. "I ain't the same bloke. We're taking ye back to our home."

"P...Peter..." He whispered softly before he felt everything fading away again. His little brother was left alone in this cruel world. And it was entirely his fault for doing so.

* * *

**Author's note: I'm kind of done with the other chapter, I'll hopefully have it up tomorrow too. But you're probably curious as to who Seamus and the others are with Iain (Scotland) are, right? I'm using my own British Isles OCs**

**Iain-Scotland**

**Seamus-Rep. Of Ireland**

**Aiden-North Ireland**

**Resse-Wales**


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur awoke with jolt hours later laying in an unfamiliar bed with odd scents surrounding him. A clap of lightning and the sense of fear quickly reasoned him to awakening. There was a young person nearby who was scared.

Shakily, he swung his legs over the bedside and stood up. It took a long moment to get to the door but he did so wobbly and soon was able to steady himself with the wall as he walked down the halls to the source of the fearful person.

Outside, flashes of lightning and large, heavy raindrops accompanied by thunder created the only noise. He unsurely entered a room, seeing a bundle of sheets shivering in fear, his first thought going right to his little brother probably sitting in the middle of the woods doing the same exact thing.

Moving closer, Arthur approached the strange young person and sat down on the edge of their bed in relative silence. Their head poked out, a little brunette with crystal-clear blue eyes staring back full of surprise and fear. His head covered once more at the sound of thunder, even making Arthur's feathers ruffle a bit.

Pulling the sheets off, Arthur opened his arms in silence and allowed the boy to carefully and cautiously climb into his lap. His brothers warned him earlier that he may be a potential danger but the second Arthur's arms were around him, he could feel that he wouldn't be harming him in any way.

"Are ye feelin' better...?" He asked shakily, looking up at the man and cringing at the noise outside once more.

"I'm still stiff and sore, but I'll be alright..." Arthur replied, letting his wings slowly wrap around the two of them even with pain shooting through the left one where he was nicked. "You're scared, aren't you...?"

"N-Not of ye..." He mumbled, coming closer and wrapping his arms around the blond's neck. "I don' like storms..."

"Neither does my brother." He said with a sincere smile, letting the boy wrap his arms around his neck. "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe tonight."

He was about to interject when he silenced himself. "Peter...he's yer brother, isn't he? Wha' happened to 'im?"

"He and I got separated." Arthur muttered, stroking the boy's back carefully as if he did have wings to watch out for. Still the boy liked the sensation from it and relaxed completely in his arms. "I need to go look for him once I get better. I don't know where he is..."

"Yer gunna find 'im. Me and mah brother's can help." He offered a little bit of reassurance, making Arthur smile.

"Thank you." He said, brushing the boy's curly locks. "My name is Arthur."

The brunette boy smiled, snuggling closer in complete comfort. "Mah name's Aiden." He flinched once more at the sound outside of the house and held him closer like the boy was his brother. "I'm sorry-"

"Just rest your head against my shoulder. I've got you..." He did as Arthur asked, still stroking the boy's back and keeping his wings spread around them until he fell asleep. "Good night Aiden..." He whispered, tucking his wings back and laying down beside him, wondering what in the world poor Peter was up to right now.

* * *

Emil woke up feeling Peter's fear from the other side of the house. Mathias decided it be better to stay overnight. Unfortunately he was laying alone regarding that his own brother decided to go lay with Mathias when he went to sleep.

Getting out of bed, he slowly and silently trudged down the halls to Peter's room and went to see what was the matter. "Peter...? Are you alright in here? You seem scared."

"T-Thunder..." He murmured from his bed, his blond head covered by a blanket. "I-I don't like thunder..."

Sure enough, there was a storm outside although Emil was reluctant to even notice. "Alright then. I'll just keep you company for a little bit." He sat down, surprised to have Peter cling onto him like he was a mother. "It's okay Peter, I'm right here-"

"I'm scared..." He admitted bashfully, clinging onto Emil tightly and hoping for him to react the same as Arthur would. It took Emil a moment to realize this and eventually wrapped his arms around the boy, lifting his wings up and around them, shrouding the two from the outside world hammering at the window.

"Don't worry...we're all going to help you find Arthur. He's strong so don't panic too much." He brushed the spot in between the boy's wings and eventually let his fingers trace to the tips. "Come on, how about you take a deep breath and relax? Tino and Berwald are going to take good care of you until then. And if you need me or Lukas, tell them and they'll get us to come over."

Peter nodded, resting his head against Emil's chest and breathing out heavily and shakily. "W-Why are you so scared of humans Emil...?"

"Don't trust all of them..." Emil breathed into his hairline,"not all of them are as nice as Tino and Berwald..."

"But Mathias is really nice too..." He piped up in a kind voice. "Besides, Lukas seems to really like him _a lot_."

His eyes narrowed angrily,"don't remind me."

"Lukas imprinted on the human male, didn't he...?" Peter asked with intrigued blue eyes cutting through the occasional flash of lightning outside. He didn't seem as phased by it anymore.

Emil's eyes rolled slightly and he could only nod. "I don't see what he likes so much in that human male. He's an idiotic person..."

"Maybe it happened when you weren't there..." Peter mused, yawning softly and resting his head against Emil's shirt and started shutting his eyes. "I like Mathias though...he makes Lukas happy too...you noticed...?"

"Yeah, I have." He mumbled bashfully, laying on his side with the boy clung onto his shirt still. "How about we lay down for a little bit. I'll stay around here for the night if you're still worried about the storm."

"Thank you Emil..." He murmured quietly, burrowing his face into the crook of the platinum-blond's neck. "Do...do you think Arthur got out of there all right? I mean...d-do you think he...?"

"Don't worry." Emil muttered, shutting his own eyes and relaxing beneath the sheets. "Arthur knows how to take good care of himself. He's strong and has magic none of us understand...I'm pretty sure that he's going to be okay..."

Peter smiled at this and nestled in quietly, the two quickly succumbing to sleep's enticing trance with the rain hitting harshly against the world they lived at the moment. Around this time in the other room, Lukas stirred at the loud noises himself and lazily turned away to meet the Dane's electric-blue eyes.

"W-What are you doing up so late...?" Lukas asked, propping himself up slightly (and uncomfortably) to look at Mathias, bare-chested due to being stubborn and not wanting to wear a shirt to bed. "W-What are you...?"

"I was just watching you..." He said in a whisper, flashing a grin through the dark. Lukas glared back, causing it to fall. "I woke up a few minutes ago because of the storm too. If you're really scared from it though, you're allowed to cuddle closer to me-"

"Don't even think about it." Lukas hissed, turning away to face the window which was being hit by a barrage of raindrop-bullets. "Just go back to sleep. I just noticed that Emil went to comfort Peter..."

"Why are you being so cold Lukas...?" Mathias purred, wrapping an around around his waist and pulling the hybrid closer to him. "What happened after those first weeks...? You always laid in bed with me...you were always so scared. It was kinda cute actually..."

"I'm not afraid anymore..." He hissed, looking back with his dulled eyes with annoyance within. "I don't need you to baby me like the first two weeks I was with you."

Mathias laid in silence, refusing to break away and brushing Lukas' arm with little gentle circles using the pads of his fingers. Lukas didn't move or seem to mind though, inwardly liking the sensation of him rubbing small circles into his arm.

"Lukas..." Mathias started only to pause once more and stare towards where the mentioned was glaring at. "I'm not going to tell anybody if you really are scared or whatever. I never told Emil."

"Because Emil would've killed you..." He hissed back, nestling closer. "And I would've killed you for telling him that..."

"Alright, alright." He silently laughed, kissing Lukas' cheek and settling down. "I'll let you go to sleep. Just try not to shift around too much for the sake of your wings and my body-"

He paused when Lukas turned his head, sliding his hand on the other's cheek and pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. They stared for a brief moment before Lukas turned his head around. "T-Thats how you humans casually say 'good night,' am I right?"

"Y-Yeah but-"

"Then good night." His voice was harsh, his face red from the initial embarrassment of what he had just done. "I'll try not to smack you with my wings-"

He was cut short when Mathias sat up, pinning him down and pressing his lips on Lukas' once more. He struggled to pull away and eventually managed to break away from the Danish man. "What exactly are you doing you idiot...!? I just told you 'good night' so go to sleep...!"

"Lukas, I really _like_ you." He blurted out a red tint coming upon his face too. "I think you're a really..._handsome_ man...and definitely the most interesting thing I've seen so far...you're beautiful in your own way-"

Without much warning his arms flew around Mathias' neck, his lips pressed against his much more passionately then they had before. But neither noticed, holding one another tightly and rolling around in the bed sheets as they entangled themselves within them. It was a battle for who was more powerful, rolling this way and that with lips moving in such sync. It took a few moments before Lukas was laying on top the other man and they broke apart from one another panting with an odd, fuzzy feeling swelling up within both of their chests.

Mathias grinned, seeing Lukas staring so intently as normal but with a much different look within his eyes. "You really like moving fast into this, don't you Luke?"

"Lukas..." He growled, averting his eyes for a moment before staring back at him. "And I refused to do anything to you unless I have your permission and cooperation. Since you're already enough of a pain in the ass to deal with..."

He wiggled his eyebrows, gaining himself a well-deserved smack on the shoulder. "Shut up..."

Once more, their lips collided and their fit of passion started again. They moved in sync, as if the two had been one person originally with arms wrapped closely around one another. Only Lukas didn't really think as he descended further about the two other winged companions who could sense everything he was feeling and immediately shooting back up into attentiveness when they noticed. He only let his own instinct carry him further from reality as it stormed outside...

* * *

When Lukas awoke the next morning, Mathias' arm was wrapped around his shoulder as he lay snuggled close to him. His mind was still hazed with sleep as he sat up and stared at Mathias, his messed up hair and two sandy feathers stuck within it in two other areas.

As his mind ventured back to that night, he felt a blush quickly spread onto his cheeks. '_Oh my God..._' Shame and embarrassment filled him quickly and he turned away to the side of the bed to hopefully find his clothes laying on the floor.

Right as he managed to find his clothes and put them back on, a light knocking at the door got his attention. Tino poked his head in, smiling when he saw the man standing up with his normal, calm expression. "Good morning Lukas. I hope you slept well."

His eyes traced back to Mathias for a moment then to Tino looking expectantly. "Yeah, we were alright. The storm woke us up some time last night but...we got back to sleep later..."

"That's good." He smiled his happy little grin. "Berwald just made breakfast and I just thought you should know. Let Mathias sleep...he won't wake up for anything anyway."

Lukas let a small smile come upon his lips as he followed Tino into the kitchen where Berwald, Emil and Peter were sitting and eating already. When he entered, he noticed the two look over with rather suspicious and (otherwise) terrifying glances. Peter was laughing to himself and Emil seemed to be in a rather good mood.

Sitting down, he gave the two a glare and uttered a silent "good morning" to the two. Emil got a mischievous look in his violet eyes, dancing with a sort of amusement in them. "Good morning. You and Mathias sleep well last night?"

Tino and Berwald paid attention in silence while they ate. Lukas showed no indicator that something out of the norm happened and nodded. "Yeah. That blockhead is still asleep so he's just going to be hungry when he wake up. This is really good Tino."

"Oh, thank you. But Ber-"

"Did you know that there was a thunderstorm last night?" Peter interjected with a grin. "Emil woke up to comfort me and around that time we noticed that you got up too."

His face tinted lightly with blush but his face showed no emotion. "Is that so?"

Emil joined in too, not skipping a beat. "Oh it is so. You wanna know what's really interesting that I found out is that when you're heart-rate increases, we can tell. Any idea why yours was so high?"

"The storm scared me a bit is all." He rebutted while glaring at the two. "It's nothing special."

"It is when you can sense..._infatuation_." Tino dropped his fork, sputtering and coughing while Berwald lightly rubbed his back. Peter started laughing and even Emil let a smile surface, going so far as to laughing himself. "If it's any conciliation, we could hear you too."

Lukas lowered his head in shame, slinking back into his chair right when Mathias came out, rubbing his tired eyes and carefully patting the Norwegian's back. "Mornin'." All eyes went on him, Peter and Emil holding back their hysterics and Tino looking over with a bewildered expression. "What exactly did I miss?"


End file.
